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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Still Sliding

Well, I ordered a new urinal, a French urinal, which is supposed to be "spill proof". And the minute it arrived, I was elated: this was thing that would save the day! Yes! Alas...... it's not working.

Aargh.

Some days I don't know whether to pull my hair out or bawl my eyes out. Sometimes, I do both.

I don't know if he's missing the hole or--what? I talked with one of his Occupational Therapists and she had no advice to offer except to "monitor" him more closely. OK, but it happens like 2:00 in the morning... She also suggested a catheter, but I feel that would be going in the complete wrong direction. I mean, all this stroke rehab is about "rewiring" the brain, and if he has a catheter, he no longer has to try to control it himself, and his brain won't "rewire" on this issue. She actually agreed with me.

I have tried to talk to Bob about this, but it's very difficult (with his aphasia) to know exactly how much he understands. I mean, I have heard him answer "yes" to questions and know that he absolutely does not mean "yes". (An example, a song by the Bee Gees was playing on the intercom, and one of the therapists asked Bob if he liked that song, and Bob said "yes". Well, I happen to know that Bob hates that particular song, at least he used too.) So... I try to discuss this problem with him and I ask him to tell me what is happening. Bob tells me "the bottle" is "tippings". He tells me, "happens". He says, "I trying". He promises to try harder. Right now, he is sleeping with his hand on the urinal, ready for action if need be. I know, he is trying and this situation is upsetting to the both of us.

Maybe a little more practice on his part?

I never thought that this would be so hard. I figured we'd conquer the urinal and then move on to the bedpan. (Don't even ask about the bedpan. He still has no control over that function, but at least that's not happening more than once a day.)

2 comments:

Looking at an online photo of the French urinal, it'd be my guess that Bob most likely is missing the hole, or perhaps isn't certain when he is finished urinating and is removing the urinal too soon? I wish I had some suggestions here. All I can come up with is to observe him during the daytime without stepping in or saying anything, see how he does.

Welcome To Our Pink House

About Me

Bob and I were married 09/16/94. He is my soulmate, the love of my life. Bob is an artist and I am a writer.
On 10/20/10, Bob, following his doctor's advice, underwent a carotid endarterectomy. When I left him in ICU that night, he was fine and I thought in good hands. Two hours after my departure, a nurse noted on his chart that Bob's speech was slurred and his right arm was paralyzed. The nurse did not call a doctor. Later that night, the nurse noted that Bob could not move his right arm or leg, still a doctor was not called. The next morning, the nurse noted that he was paralyzed on the right side, a "12" on the Glasgow Coma Scale, disoriented and confused, but no doctor was informed. I arrived at 9:00 a.m. and immediately called for the doctor. He was rushed to surgery. It was 12 hours too late. The CAT scan showed 2/3 of his brain had been damaged. I was told he would not survive. Somehow, he did.
Bob was discharged from the hospital on 12/31/10 and, although the hospital wanted him sent to a nursing home, I brought him home instead. This is the story of our journey since that day. This is also a love story.
(Bob passed away 5/28/15 and I am trying to survive....)